BABY IT’S BOUT TIME, NOEL FRANCISCO CONFIRMED AS U.S. S.G. | Republicans Struggling To Agree On Judicial Nominees | New App from SCOTUSblog
September 20, 2017
BABY, IT'S ABOUT TIME
|Well people, we’ve got ourselves a new Solicitor General. Yesterday, the Senate confirmed NOEL FRANCISCO just ahead of the new Supreme Court term that will see the Trump administration facing various legal challenges on everything from immigration to gay rights. The Senate divided along party lines in its vote, reflecting a distrust among Democrats toward any lawyer who would step forward to pursue and protect the Trump agenda.
THEY SAID YOU'D BE LIKE ALL THE OTHER GUYS
|For those of you who aren’t familiar with the new solicitor general, Big Law Business for Bloomberg Law put together five “fun” facts about the new kid on the block. To give you a head start, I can tell you FRANCISCO comes into his new job after serving as deputy solicitor general and acting solicitor general after PRESIDENT TRUMP took office, and he has spent his career cycling between the private and public sectors.
I'M TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION AND I NEED YOU TO KNOW
|For Slate, Palma Joy Strand argues that JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY should follow the logic and precedent set by JUSTICE BYRON WHITE and strike down partisan gerrymandering in the upcoming case, Gill v. Whitford.
CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG
|“The White House has been at odds with Texas’ Republican senators and governor for months over two judicial vacancies, showing how tricky it can be for President Donald Trump to shape the judiciary even in seemingly friendly states.” That’s Zoe Tillman with Buzzfeed reporting on the political saga in Texas that’s keeping three seats vacant on the Fifth Circuit (two of which are in Texas) and revealing just how much members of the president’s own party can trip up his judicial agenda.
SEPTEMBER SONG, SUMMER LASTED TOO LONG
|Mark Sherman with The Associated Press explains how the much-anticipated Supreme Court case on DONALD TRUMP’S travel ban could “vanish into the legal ether.” The long, long summer has been a countdown to the expiration date of the 90-day ban which is set for September 24. The refugee ban lapses one month later. Sherman notes that the Supreme Court being able to avoid ruling on this case may be just what most of the justices are hoping for.
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OTHER NEWS
Arizona Supreme Court Says Gays Get Equal Parental Rights
The Associated Press“The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a lesbian woman who is divorcing her spouse is entitled to equal parental rights under the U.S. Constitution, even though a state law doesn’t recognize those rights. The ruling from the state’s highest court said U.S. Supreme Court precedent requires same-sex couples be afforded the same rights as straight couples.”
Kirkland's Paul Clement Gets Nod to Argue Key Labor Cases at Supreme Court
The National Law JournalThe Future of Partisan Gerrymandering Hinges on a Supreme Court Case
TruthDig“Still, as decisive as the many geographic and racial reapportionment rulings of the Supreme Court since Baker have been, the court has waffled on the equally critical issue of partisan gerrymandering—the act of mapping electoral districts so as to entrench the majority political party in power. Indeed, the Supreme Court to this date has never overturned a state electoral map on grounds of partisan overreach.”